EUGENE, Ore. (WTXL) - FSU head coach Willie Taggart is facing a $11.5 million lawsuit from a former Oregon Ducks football player.
Former Oregon Ducks football player Doug Brenner is suing Taggart, along with the NCAA, the University of Oregon, and former strength coach Irele Oderinde, for negligence, according to a report from the Oregonian.
The suit stems from Brenner's January 2017 hospitalization. The injuries, which cut the offensive linemen's senior season short, allegedly occurred during intense offseason workouts.
The Oregonian reports that the workouts resulted in Brenner being hospitalized for "rhabdomyolysis and subsequent injuries."
According to the Oregonian, the lawsuit further alleges that the University of Oregon and NCAA failed to regulate the workout practices, which the suit describes as "physical punishment regimens.”
Brenner was one of three Oregon players that were hospitalized in Jan. 2017 following the workouts in question. The Oregonian reports that each were diagnosed with rhabdomyolysis.
Brenner is seeking $11.5 million in damages.
According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, rhabdomyolysis "is a potentially life-threatening syndrome resulting from the breakdown of skeletal muscle fibers with leakage of muscle contents into the circulation."
The most common causes are crush injuries, overexertion, alcohol abuse, certain medicines and certain toxic substances. Symptoms may not be recognizable at first, but its most serious complication, acute kidney failure, is common.
